About me
One blistering hot Cairo summer day in 2006 I gathered some friends to visit the Four Seasons Nile Plaza and its chocolate buffet. I was gearing up psychologically to leave Umm El Donia, as my company was leaving Egypt at the end of the year, and I felt the combination of chocolate, friends, chocolate and luxury (did I mention chocolate?), would be appropriately soothing. It was. It also introduced me to Mr S, a tall, dark, mysterious Frenchman.
Pre Mr S I lived a wild and crazy life in central Cairo where going out in the evening meant meeting friends any time from 10pm to 2am, work nights would see me tucked up in bed early, at around 1am, all my friends were Egyptian – well, I certainly didn’t move all the way to Egypt to befriend Europeans and North Americans – and I avoided expat areas of town like the plague.
It’s funny what love can do. Almost immediately upon being smitten I moved to the sheltered life of The Hood. The first year was spent trying to get the echoes of tooting car horns out of my head, wearing ear plugs because the morning’s birdsong woke me up, getting used to saying what part of town I lived in without cringing and becoming accustomed to life in expat circles – not so easy given that our circles were French and I spoke none apart from oui, non, merci and a very quickly picked up enchanté.
Three years to the day that Mr S first held my hand in an electrifying moment somewhere in downtown Cairo, we got married deep in the French countryside. Before becoming a fully fledged trailing spouse, I was Trailing Grouse: a trailing Scottish bird. As a woman of modernity, I refuse to make my marital status change my name, (well, alright, that only applies in the blogosphere, in real life I’m rather traditional), so Trailing Grouse is here to stay!
You can get in touch with me at thegrouse @ trailinggrouse dot com
7 Comments
1.
BLOGitse commented on September 19, 2008 at 10:14 am
Hi!
Just wanted to say hello!
I’ve or we, my husband and me, been in Cairo 6 months.
Visit my blogs: blogitse.worpress.com and blogitse.blogspot.com
BR,
BLOGitse
2.
Deanna Beeler commented on December 14, 2008 at 4:30 am
What a colorful life! And you write so well! I’m 65, divorced, empty-nested, and settled in Northern California with two dogs, two cats, and a National Show Horse who is way too much horse for me. Somebody referred me to the camel dressage video, which is plenty enough in itself, but then to find a scottish bird trailing after a mysterious frenchman in Cairo is a big bonus. Obviously you should write a book – perhaps not a novel, but a book of essays or observations.
I never understood avoiding gringos in a “foreign” country. I didn’t go there to avoid the gringos, just to see the foreign country and experience its culture and geography. Seems like you could do that while still seeing people who speak your native language – tho’ you didn’t quite pull that one off. Locking yourself into a compound of Scotspersons, or Frogs for that matter, is something else again.
3.
Mona commented on January 02, 2009 at 12:57 am
Am an Egyptian whoz lived as an expat abroad all my life, and finally settled back in Egypt 2 years ago. Instead of experiencing the “ahhh, home sweet home” sensation, I was more lost and confused in my own country.
Am glad to have come across ur site and ur previous blogspot.
4.
Alyssa commented on May 01, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Hi!
) it made me giggle for days.
)
)
I love your blog, I’m completely addicted to it! I particularly liked your post about riding your bike in a v-neck
I started looking at websites on life in Egypt a while ago, my boyfriend is an Egyptian from Cairo, and we live in Australia (I’m Australian) we’re thinking of traveling for a while and he’s suggested spending a few months in Cairo. So I thought I’d have a look and find out just what I’m in for
I have mixed emotions about going, but Egypt never seems to be dull! And what fun would a dull life be?
5.
Neil commented on May 09, 2009 at 4:42 am
As an old friend(?)/out-of-touch friend(?)/admirer of your photography, lover of your writing and sense of humor, I think you have to update your “about me” section, don’t you?
Glad you’re well.
6.
Georgia commented on August 13, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Just wanted to say. Fell upon your website by accident when researching getting married abroad. What a fantastic writer you are! After the first paragraph I was hooked and the pile of admin that needed addressing on my desk hasn’t been finished. (Oh well, I have all night to come up with reasons why it wasn’t done for the boss! lol)
Am going home now to get the laptop out, open a bottle of wine, and read away. Keep up the good work.
The world is far too big a place to stand still in one spot don’t you think?
Georgia
7.
Silvie commented on August 15, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Just wanted to say what an interesting blog full of useful information and a joy to read! Thanks very much for putting this together